He who is the maker of his own position is more able to maintain it; he knows the price of the efforts which he had to make in order to construct it, and, armed with common sense, he is as able to defend his treasure as to enjoy the sweet savor of a thing which he has desired, longed for, and won by the force of his will and judgment, placed at the service of circumstances and directed toward success.
LESSON XI
COMMON SENSE AND SELF-CONTROL
"Where life manifests itself," says Yoritomo, "antagonism always springs up."
"In the eternal struggle between the individual and social soul, each of which, in its turn, is victorious or vanquished, a truce is declared only if self-control is allied to common sense, in order to maintain the equilibrium between individual sentiment, natural to each one of us, and the ideas of mankind as a whole.
"All classes of society are subject to this law, and, from the proudest prince to the humblest peasant, every one is obliged to harmonize their social duties with their personal obligations.
"Those who understand how to imbibe thoroughly the lessons of common sense, never ignore the fact that morality is always closely related to self-interest.
"If each one of us would observe this rule individual happiness would not be long in creating a harmony from which all men would benefit.
"One thing we should avoid, for the attainment of universal tranquility, and that is the perpetual conflict between individual and social interest.
"The day when each one of us can comprehend that he is a part of this 'all,' which is called society, he will admit that sinning against society may be considered the same as sinning against oneself.